Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kan t will attend the 34th annual convocation of the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru, on October 17.
CJI Kant will preside over the ceremony as the university’s Chancellor, said a LiveLaw report.
Students of NLSIU had objected to Bar Council of India (BCI) Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra and CJI Kant attending the university’s convocation and had also demanded an unconditional apology from BCI to the student and faculty community of the National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (NALSAR), University of Law, Hyderabad. Following the controversy, the university cancelled the convocation ceremony for the 2026 graduating batch.
The convocation comes after NLSIU had earlier cancelled the ceremony scheduled for September 12, announcing that no convocation would be held for the 2026 batch due to “unavoidable circumstances”. The university had said the students would instead be conferred their degrees in absentia.
The controversy stems from NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad, where students had opposed the proposed presence of CJI Kant at their convocation. Following the episode, NLSIU students and alumni expressed solidarity with the NALSAR students and criticised the BCI’s action. The issue escalated on August 13 when the BCI directed State Bar Councils to halt the enrolment of NALSAR’s graduating batch, although the directive was withdrawn within hours.
